The Last Resort
by HadesIsNotEvil
Summary: The fight with Kaguya didn't end with congratulations. Instead, it is up to Sakura and Kakashi to save the world. They tried, for so long they tried. Twenty years after the war, Sakura has finally given up. Now, all she can do is protect what she holds dear.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N First fan fic I've written in a longtime. Please don't be gentle, I'll need advice. **

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><p>Chapter 1: In which Kaguya is not an idiot (for the most part) and remembers to use her byakugan. Also, time travel.<p>

_Don't make light of me! _Sakura thought, hurling down to Kaguya. This was it, the end. One punch, and it would be nearly over. Kaguya lifted herself above Naruto's and Sasuke's range and Sakura steeled herself. Almost there, almost done, almost-

Kaguya moved, pulling herself back so Sakura's blow didn't even skim her hair. In front of her, Kaguya shifted, twisting herself so her bone sword angled towards Naruto. _Trap!_, was all Sakura could think before a knee crushed her ribs and sent her flying. Kakashi caught her, and immediately she turned so she could see the fight, despite the blood bubbling up her throat from a punctured lung. There was a second, while she was turning around, where she hoped that Naruto and Sasuke were quicker to realize than she had been, where they recognized what was happening and jumped away, safe. But then she saw Naruto falling, torso split in two. Everything in the world stopped and a strangled cry crawled up throat. It wasn't possible, not Naruto, no way. He was going to be Hokage.

Sasuke seemed to be the only one who hadn't shut down, and as soon as the blow struck Naruto he pushed forward, grabbing Kaguya from behind and ripping out her rinnegan. When his fingers dug in she turned around and drove her hand through her chest, letting out a scream of rage so fierce, so full of hatred and power the world began to shake and crumble. The black sphere trembled and morphed before disappearing altogether.

The world was falling apart around them, but all Sakura could see was Sasuke, dangling from that woman's arm. She couldn't think, couldn't move as hopelessness overwhelmed her. They'd been fighting so long, so very long, and in an instant it all ended. What was she supposed to do now? What _could _she do? Nothing.

Evidently, Kakashi didn't feel so helpless. Just as the woman started removing her arm from Sasuke's chest, he cast Kamui, pulling Sasuke and the woman's arm into another dimension. Sakura was too tired, too broken to care when Kaguya's wrathful gaze leveled on them, though a natural trickle of fear shivered down her spine. It didn't matter though, because as soon as that woman flew towards them the world fell apart, literally. The sky and the ground mixed, gravity ceased to function, and everything crumbled into nothing. For a moment, Sakura felt the briefest flicker of hope. She was going to die here, she knew, but maybe Kaguya would too. Maybe Naruto and Sasuke hadn't died in vain.

Not for the last time, her hope was crushed. When the world finally finished disintegrating, they fell back into the real one, where they were surrounded by an impressive summoning circle and the Hokages. The landing jarred Sakura, who was still recovering from that viscous kick. Once again, Kakashi was there to steady her. She caught his eye as she stood up. He had his professional face on—serious and focused, but it didn't keep the despair from his eyes. A desperate sort of determination seized her. It wasn't over yet—Kaguya lost her rinnegan, and a good portion of her abilities with it (so she hoped). They would figure something else out, they would stop her. And, without the rinnegan, Kaguya couldn't keep up the Infinite Tsukuyomi. Sakura and Kakashi had the entire ninja alliance at their back. They could do this.

For her part, Kaguya again screamed in rage. This time, she wasn't content with verbal expression, though. She flew high into the air and looked down directly over the alliance. From her mouth spewed chakra, which formed into a sphere of blinding light. This all happened within seconds of them appearing, and already the Hokages were moving to attack, rising up to meet her on a tree of the First's own. It was too late though, and Kaguya shot the ball of pure chakra. Sakura couldn't react to any of this—couldn't so much as muster a weak protest. It was over.

No sooner had the thought crossed her mind then she felt her body start to shift. The world around her swirled, before fading away entirely. She stood in a familiar void, with Sasuke's corpse at her feet and Kakashi gripping her shoulder.

"I couldn't reach her," he said, voice thick and labored. "Not from that distance."

It was okay. Sakura didn't blame him. If she had only landed that hit—

"We should burn him," she said, burying her grief and guilt. She understood, now, why Kakashi teleported Sasuke here. He was the last person with a rinnegan. If Kaguya caught a hold of him, the entire world would still be ensnared by her. Unfortunately, this also meant Sasuke couldn't get a proper funeral. The rinnegan needed to be destroyed immediately. Kakashi nodded in agreement and started the hand signals.

Neither stayed to watch, instead walking further into the emptiness. Her body trembled, and she could taste the salt from her tears. Then her shoulders started to shake and she was completely undone, sobbing uncontrollably, hands wrapped around her stomach and head buried in her knees. How long she stayed like that, she didn't know, but when she stood her bones cracked and muscles ached in protest. Kakashi seemed to have wandered back to Sasuke, sealing away whatever was left of his corpse. Now he just stood there, back facing her. She walked around him and looked into his eyes. Already, they seemed empty. A part of her wanted to leave him to his grief, as he left her to hers. Instead, she gripped him by the shoulders.

"It's not over," she whispered, putting as much strength into her voice as she could. A bit of life flickered into his gaze. "There's still the ninja left behind in the villages. And all the ninja not in the alliance. And, if we all can't do it, the next generation will. For Sasuke, for Naruto" she paused, mulling over her words, "for Obito, we can't give up, not ever."

...

Sakura was no Naruto. She didn't have the ability to unfailing keep her word, so twenty years later, after the death of so many she had loved and grown to love, she finally conceded. They had failed.

As she drifted through the twisting, dimly lit halls, a memory stirred in the back of her mind. The first time she was in a compound like this, she had been searching for Sasuke. It was so frenzied then—a manic energy pushing her forward. She had no idea what would push her now. After all, back then she was looking for her family. Now, she was saying goodbye forever.

_He will be safe, _she told herself, again and again. And who knew? Maybe this plan of theirs would actually work and they would save the world. Her laugh ranged through the halls, hollow and empty. No, it was pure desperation, a last resort. This world was too far gone and the only thing she could do was protect what was left.

The thought steeled her resolve, forcing her forward. She approached the deepest chamber in the compound—one made to house a multitude of horrible experiments, she had no doubt—when she finally saw him. He was exiting the chamber as she walked down the hall and his face broke into a smile when their eyes made contact.

"There you are!" he said, his bright voice bouncing off the walls. "I was just about to look for you." With long legs, he strode towards her, before bending down to sweep in a hug. She wrapped her arms around him, unwilling to let go. The moment stretched out, and when he tried to pull away she only gripped tighter.

"Uh, Mom," he wheezed, "I can't-huh-really breathe." Reluctantly she released him, taking a step back and resting her hands on his shoulders. The boy (_almost a man now_, she noted, her heart aching) was over a head taller than her, so she had to look up to meet his eyes.

"I love you, Daisuke" she whispered, putting as much force into those quiet words as she could muster. His father was a distant memory to her, but she could recognize him in her son. Daisuke had his wide grin, his sharp chin and cheekbones, his height, and his brown hair. But it was her own reflection that undid her—her eyes, her nose, her brow, the part of her hair, all these little reminders that he was hers. _He will be safe. _Yet he still had to wipe the tears away from her eyes.

"It will work out," he said, his hands cupping her face. "I will fix everything, I swear."

Daisuke did love to make grand promises. What scared her was that he had every intention to follow them through (_It's my ninja way, _he'd say, and it's so irritating a part of her wants to smack him for it). She wanted to tell him it didn't matter, this was all to keep him safe and nothing he could do would change a thing. She wanted to tell him to settle down, fall in love, and forget about the horror he left behind, but he was her son and she knew him better than that. Instead, she said,

"Don't be reckless. Let Chie and the rest look out for you. The only thing you can do on your own is get killed." He nodded, his face the picture of serious contemplation, but Sakura only bought it so much. Daisuke wasn't an idiot, but he was a seventeen year old boy with dreams of heroism.

He bent down to kiss her forehead.

"I love you too" he said, tears choking his throat. It reminded Sakura she needed to be strong, so she stiffened her back and pulled away.

"Come, it's time."

When they entered the chamber, everyone else was already there, including all the children. They surrounded a pale girl whose name Sakura always forgot. The girl was approximately the age of Daisuke, seventeen, but her small frame and sickly appearance made her seem younger. There were only fourteen children, four to eleven. There was also the twelve year old twins, Yuichi and Yuka, but they had seen and experienced so much they hardly qualified as children. Then, off in the shadows, was Raiden. He was two years older than the twins, but often acted half their age. They're used to be so many more in their generation, but then Kaguya found the turtle island.

It was ironic. They sent noncombatants—those too young to fight, those who weren't strong enough to be of use—to the turtle. At the time, the solution was ideal. The turtle was large enough to keep one hundred people and was constantly on the move. On top of that, it never go on land. With the turtle, ninjas still struggling against Kaguya had a safe place to send their children. Then one day, whether by bad luck or Kaguya's own intention, she found the turtle. Sakura had seen the end of all the ninja villages, had seen clans exterminated to the last man and woman, but this was the greatest tragedy she experienced since the war. The will of the resistance was broken, leading them to this desperate, far-fetched idea. The fourteen left had been training under Orochimaru and Aiko (an old veteran who was apparently in the Akatsuki before Obito took it over). They were prodigies and had been taken from the island before the attack. Once, Sakura would have thought it sad how children so young we being turned into weapons. The world was terrible, but at least on the island they would've had a semblance of a childhood. But that would have been before everyone died… and before Toshi.

One of the children bolted forward, crying out

"Haru!" before barreling into Daisuke's legs. Daisuke's nickname, Haru, was partially her fault. By the time he was born, Sakura was something of a leader in the resistance. When he was a boy, constantly grasping at her skirts, she was well respected and mostly known as Lady Haruno. As a result, Daisuke was known as the 'Little Haruno' which eventually devolved into simply Haru.

"Hiro!" Daisuke cried out in turn, lifting the boy over his shoulder. Sarutobi Hiro was always hard to see for Sakura—he reminded her so much of his father, Konohamaru, in personality as well as looks. It was like a ghost wandering the halls (though Toshi was worse).

"A surprise attack doesn't work if you scream your target's name, you know." Hiro bit Daisuke's shoulder as a response, earning a yelp. Daisuke tossed the five year old from his shoulder, but the boy landed gracefully. He turned and grinned. Daisuke just frowned and rubbed his shoulder, his hand glowing green as he healed the bite mark.

"Why'd you do that?" he asked. Sensing his disapproval, Hiro began to look nervous.

"C-cousin told me to," he mumbled, looking at the ground. Sakura cast Yuhi Satoru a look. The twenty year old stood at the other end of the chamber, leaning against the wall without a care in the world. He was a good-looking boy, more pretty than handsome. He favored his mother's looks, having her pale skin, her red eyes, and her soft features. Though his hair was brown and he never let it grow passed his chin, it was as uncontrollably wavy as his mothers and surrounded his head like a mane. His personality was completely untraceable. He was exceedingly arrogant and delighted in mocking others, and, though she had seen him grow up and loved his mother, Sakura could barely stand him. Once he caught her eye, he smirked and bowed his head slightly. Despite herself, Sakura glared at him. In that instant, Toshi (never far from Satoru's side) stepped into view.

As per usual, Sakura's stomach lurched in a mixture of disgust and guilt. He was Sasuke, but he wasn't. It was Sasuke's face, Sasuke's voice, Sasuke's hair. But Toshi was still not Sasuke. He wore his hair long, kept in a low ponytail. He stood with perfectly straight posture, hands clasped behind his back and heels together. At nineteen, he was older then Sasuke had ever been (a part of Sakura hated him for it), resulting in an extra inch or so of height and slightly broader shoulders. Sakura knew it was unfair to resent him as much as she did—after all, he wouldn't exist if it wasn't for her (and Orochimaru, but she approved it, so she took responsibility). _And, _she thought, staring into his rinnegan eyes, _he is our last hope. The person who will save our children. _With that in mind, she was able to give him a genuine smile. Predictably, he remained impassive.

Daisuke, not one to hold a grudge, laughed off Satoru telling his five year old cousin to bite him, instead ruffling little Hiro's hair and sending him back to the other children. He and Sakura approached Orochimaru, who stood with Aiko and Uzumaki Chie in the center of a summoning circle that spanned the entire one-hundred foot chamber. Chie sat on her knees, palms flat on the ground, eyes closed and brow furrowed in concentration. Orochimaru looked up and gave her a bland smile.

"It's not like you to be late, Lady Haruno." The greeting was meant to anger her. The jab about being late meant to remind her of Kakashi; the way he said her title—one she didn't deserve but did feel proud of—meant to condescend, like it amused him. Once again, she was reminded how much she hated Orochimaru. When he first showed up in front of her, Kakashi, and a ragtag group of survivors, offering ideas and plans about how to deal with Kaguya, Sakura had balked. Kakashi, after pointing out Orochimaru's intelligence and vast knowledge and that he helped fight in the war, convinced her it was a good idea to accept his help. Of course, it was. Orochimaru had been a boon, coming up with elaborate security measure and with a seemingly endless supply of resources. Still, Sakura knew his character—knew the horrors he committed and the horrors he would commit, given the chance. Daisuke, who had never known an enemy besides Kaguya and was unfailingly polite to persons of authority, bowed slightly before asking,

"Lord Orochimaru, how long do we have left, if you do not mind me asking?" Orochimaru's smile widened slightly, in a way that made Sakura distinctly uncomfortable.

"Chie is infusing the last seals with chakra as we speak. We're just minutes away." Despite herself, Sakura's heart ached. So soon. Beside her, Daisuke seemed almost giddy. Aiko caught her eye, giving her a solidly sympathetic look. Aiko had children long ago, and should have had grandchildren by now if the world was right. Either way, she understood the difficulty of a child eager to move on. Of course, the scale here so entirely different, it hardly seemed comparable. Chie looked up at the four of them, glowering.

"If you all want to chat, can you _please_ do it somewhere else?" she snapped. "No, just go somewhere else, period. I can't concentrate with you watching me." She was twenty-two, but only been training as a ninja for the past ten years. Konohamaru had found her outside the crater that used to be Iwa. She had an immense amount of chakra and plenty of raw power, as well as other Uzumaki gifts, but little control. Sakura was especially fond of her (and not only because Chie would always look out for Daisuke), so she forgave the attitude and left with a smile. Daisuke followed, seemingly a little irritated by the rebuke.

Sakura glanced around the room once more, taking a head count.

"Where's Shikami?" she asked. Shikami—the last of the Nara's and the last user of the kagemane (with no Akimichi or Yamanaka to fight side-by-side with). Alongside Daisuke, Shikami was her student, one of the few among her generation to learn medic ninjutsu. The two of them used to be close friends, but, evidenced by Daisuke's sour look at the mention of her name, they had a falling out. Most of Shikami's relationships fell apart after the death of her parents and brother.

Apparently, the sixteen year old girl had developed psychic abilities, for she chose that moment to enter the chamber, her shoulders slouched and feet dragging. The lethargy was mostly feigned, Sakura noted, though she had no idea why. Shikami was as hard a worker as anyone, and she used to have very strong discipline when she trained. Daisuke's sour expression turned downright irate.

"I almost didn't think you'd come," he said with an accusatory edge in his tone. Shikami stared at him blankly (and wasn't that empty, broken look familiar?) before joining Satoru and Toshi against the wall. Sakura made sure he caught her disapproving eyes, and he at least had the sense to be slightly ashamed of his behavior. Several of the children shot Daisuke a curious look. As a response he gave them his winning smile, little trace of his anger left in his face. The tenseness of his shoulders sill betrayed his feelings.

Thankfully, the moment didn't stretch on much longer. With a loud 'hell yeah!' she jumped up, then immediately began to stretch. Daisuke perked up instantaneously, but in his corner Toshi seemed to get even tenser. Both walked towards the center, understanding the seal was done.

Sakura linked her arm with Daisuke's, relishing this last bit of contact before the jutsu began. The eerie pale girl, the children, the twins, and Raiden approached as well. Then Shikami and Satoru followed Toshi. The room was utterly silent save for their footsteps, the gravity of what was about to happen settling in. When everyone stood before him, Orochimaru began,

"We've practiced this before, but the experience will drain you to the point of death." He said this part directly to Daisuke, Chie, and Toshi, the three who would conduct the jutsu. Then, he focused specifically on Chie and Daisuke "You need to know how to pace yourself—you must be in synch with each other while transferring your chakra. Too much and you'll kill him, too little and the jutsu will fail."

"We know, Lord Orochimaru," Daisuke interrupted. "We're ready." He said it with such sincerity that it was hard to doubt him. Orochimaru merely smiled, his thoughts hidden (though probably condescendingly amused).

"I believe you," he said, before turning his attention on the rest. "You all will need to stand in the third rim of the sealing circle, and only in the third rim. Otherwise the jutsu will, literally, cease your existence." There was too much cheer behind his voice as he said that. The rest, for their part, seriously considered his words. Except for Satoru, of course, who stood there smirking.

"How do we know this won't 'cease our existence'" he mimicked Orochimaru's tone to a tee, "no matter what. This is completely unprecedented. It borders on lunacy."

Sakura knew he only said that to disturb the others. He had every intention to see this through. Of course, it was Daisuke who answered.

"It was just as unprecedented and impossible to be able to create an entire other dimension, in addition to five others. It is the rinnegan's power to manipulate reality itself. We're simply channeling that power in a different way, using Chie's chakra and the natural chakra in the seals."

"Creating other dimensions is a far cry from time travel." Satoru noted. Sakura held back a sigh. He was right, but Satoru also knew Sakura and the rest's intention wasn't to send them into the past to fix their mistakes. It was to protect the only thing they had left—their children. Really, only Chie and Daisuke hadn't realized this.

"We're not creating another dimension," Daisuke said hastily, frowning in such a way Sakura worried he might know more then he let out. "We're using it the same way Toshi usually uses his rinnegan, and the way Uchiha Sasuke used it before him. We're moving from one place another. We're simply using this seal and the inherit power of the rinnegan to tear into reality so we have a hole we can jump through." It was clear Daisuke didn't fully understand what he was talking about. There was a lot of theory in this jutsu—theory about the nature of the rinnegan, about time and it's relation to reality. What Sakura hoped for was that they would end up in a new dimension, where Kaguya could never reach them. With the combined power of a full-blood Uzumaki, the Hyakugou seal, a Senju-Uchiha hybrid, and every scrap of natural energy they could get their hands on, they should be able to make a dimension that's elaborate, able to support them, and large enough to spread out. Who knows? They might be able to create an entire new world, without any rabbit goddesses.

Daisuke turned to the rest of the group, looking at each and every one of them.

"This will work," he said. "I promise."

It seemed to rally everyone, even Shikami stood a little straighter. Some of the younger kids looked up at him with wide, adoring eyes. Satoru seemed thoroughly irritated.

"If that's all, it's time to begin." Orochimaru said, making towards the back of the room. Sakura made to follow him—she was needed to power a barrier around the seal, to prevent the jutsu from spiraling out of control. Before she made a step, Daisuke pulled her into his arms.

"I promise," he repeated. Sakura pulled away, looking at his face and memorizing every small, minute detail. Then she followed Orochimaru.

Once she was at the edge of the room, she dropped to her knees, activated her Hyakugou seal, and transferred chakra into the outer seal. Slowly, a shimmering barrier encircled the room.

In the center, Toshi kneeled, before making small cuts in both his hands and pressing them against the central seal. Behind him, Chie and Daisuke pressed their hands against his shoulders. Daisuke had activated his own Hyakugou (carefully built since he was nine years old) and Chie had that furrowed, angry look she always had when she was being extra careful with her chakra. For a moment, nothing happened. Then they were surrounded by blackness.

Sakura's heart stuttered and the barrier along with it. Orochimaru made a noncommittal sound behind her, and Sakura refocused. The black sphere was good—it was the same Kaguya used to make another dimension. The jutsu was working.

Slowly, the sphere spread, before it covered the nervous group in the third rim. Eventually it was pressing against the barrier, and Sakura pour in even more chakra. For a moment it seemed like it would break, but then the sphere disappeared entirely.

Sakura didn't even have a moment to grieve for loss before everything disappeared. She disappeared.

It seemed the world, as she knew it, had ceased to exist.

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><p><strong>an Sorry, I kind of hoodwinked you. Yeah, this is going to be a OC heavy, next gen time travel story, in the vein of Terminator or the Android saga from DBZ. I'm sorry if there was an OC over load in the end. I was trying to at least get the name of almost all the major characters in so I could start establishing them next chapter without it seeming sudden. I'm going to include a list of the main character's with relevant descriptions before every chapter to make it a bit easier to deal.  
><strong>

**Regarding the structure of the story, the beginning will always be a clip from the bad future, advancing chronologically until it catches up with this chapter. Please share your thoughts. Was the end of the chapter too clunky with all the new characters? How in-character did you find Sakura and Kakashi? Do you have any questions about the direction of the story? Grammar Nazis are also very welcome.  
><strong>


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N Significant Characters:  
><strong>

**Haruno Daisuke. Also called Haru. Son and student of Sakura. 17 years old. Tall, brown-haired. Dreams of Heroism**

**Yuuhi Satoru. Son of Yuuhi Kurenai. Looks like her, with brown hair. 20 years old. **

**Toshi: Looks Identical to Sasuke. Has Rinnegan. Said to be an Uchiha-Senju hybrid. 19 years old. Never far from Satoru's side.**

**Nara Shikami. Last of the Nara clan. Student of Sakura, former friend of Haru. Fell apart after death of her family. 16 years old**

**Yuichi and Yuka: Male and female twins. Twelve years old. Mature for their age.**

**Raiden: Immature. Fourteen years old. **

**Sarutobi Hiro: Konohamru's son, Satoru's cousin, and Haru's friend. Looks and acts a lot like his father. Five years old. **

**Unnamed pale girl: Is often with the children. Very pale and sickly looking. Described as eerie.**

**I think that covered all the bases. Again sorry 'bout the OC overload. **

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><p>Chapter 2: In which the most powerful characters are useless, Satoru has far too much fun, and we meet the weirdness that is Nao. Also, death and destruction for all the nations!<p>

Below her there was nothing but rubble. No living thing survived her bijuudama. It seemed even her Zetsu disintegrated. On some level, she understood what she'd done was wrong. She needed to absorb all those people's chakras. Even if she lost control of the Tsukuyomi, she didn't need to kill them. After all, what harm were they to her? She could've found another way to gain the rinnegan in time, and then just taken all their chakra then. Instead she wasted it in petty rage.

But the rage didn't feel petty. It was as strong and potent as a poison, swirling in her mind and soul. There was her anger, from her sons' betrayal, from her eternity sealed away. But there was more betrayal, more hate than any could know swirling inside her head. Thousands, and thousands, and thousands of years of it. A part of her recognized that there was more than the hatred, but it was negligible. For a mad moment she considered ending it, the world, that vermin called humanity. But no sooner had the thought crossed her mind did she dismiss it. She would not lose control, not after being bound for so long. She had a goal, a purpose. This world was her nursery, and she must let her children grow. First, she must start by learning to absorb chakra herself. So far she had done it through a proxy—the Shinju or Zetsu. Then she would absorb any errant soul that dared try to stop her. Eventually, she would grow a new rinnegan, even if it took the thousand years it took Zetsu (but somehow, Kaguya doubted she would be so inefficient). In the meantime, she would rule this world as God.

Below her, she noticed a strange entity. Within a second she recognized him. Again, that swirl of emotions that was hers but not overwhelmed her, but she hid it behind a stony face. Slowly, she floated down to stand face to face with her son, her Hagoromo.

"It hasn't ended here," he said, his voice so wizened with age it honestly startles her. A familiar concern rushed forth, only to be trampled by the reminder of what he did to her. _I loved you,_ she thought, _I loved you both so much._

"I know," she answered. "But nothing changes." Her son shook his head.

"Don't you understand? They will never submit, just like Hamura and me. If anything, they're resolve has gotten stronger over the years." He paused, looking into her eyes and gauging her reaction. Seeing her as unmoved as ever, he continued, "Humanity is not something one can control. I've tried, my sons tried, but never succeeded. They resist or subvert expectation or end up using _us_ for_ their_ own ends."

_You are all children. I am God. _

"Mother," he whispered, voice cracking, "please. It is time for us to leave this world."

For a moment, she sputtered. What arrogance! Cruelty! To think he could _manipulate_ her, with soft, affectionate words, with childish pleading, after everything he'd done!

"Yes," she said, her vicious tone betraying her anger, "It is time for you to leave." With that, she dug into the world, opening a portal to the land of eternal peace (the place she would never go). Hagoromo didn't even offer a resistance as she thrust him in.

"Your children will follow you through," she hissed.

"I hope so. We've lived too long," he responded as the portal closed. A feeling of impotency overcame her, temporarily blinding her judgment. Hence, her next act.

From the tip of each of her five fingers, she created a bijuudama. She remembered the location of her targets from those two idiots that tried to control her (and from her own memories, it seemed. From nine sets of her own memories). With careless ease, she destroyed the five great ninja villages (or re-destroyed, as the case maybe). Almost as an afterthought, she made a dozen or so more to deal with the rest of those chakra thieves. A wave of her arm sent the attacks off.

Within in moments, she realized her mistake. As opposed to more anger, she simply sighed.

This was turning out to be a bad day.

….

He didn't want to, but when the jutsu ended Satoru couldn't help but collapse and heave. It was like the black sphere had been compressing him, squishing his insides into a small, compact cube. Most of others followed his example, excepting Toshi, Haru, and Chie, but they were probably unconscious.

The room around them was pitch black, the only sound them hacking. After a few moments, even that dwindled, until there was nothing but silence.

"Did it work?" one of the kids asked (Tsu-something).

"Who's to say?" the boy Yu answered (_Yuichi_, Satoru remembers).

"It occurs to me," Uchinuma Nao said, her voice perpetually calm and melodic. "That we could have traveled so far into the past this room wouldn't exist, and we'd be trapped under a hundred feet of rock." Satoru couldn't it help it—he laughed. Even if they had actually traveled to the past, this concern wouldn't have occurred to any of them, except the eerie, pale Nao, since she's prone to strange thoughts. Maybe Shikami too. That girl is nothing if not thorough. Mostly he laughed because he knew they hadn't traveled into the past. No doubt they were in a dimension of Toshi's own creation. The thought gave him a rush of pride for his friend. No matter what hardship he faced to get it, the power Toshi had was worth it. One day, Satoru will even make him understand that.

"It occurs to _me_," Shikami drawls, purposefully slow. "That if we traveled to the past, we traveled into one of Orochimaru's secret, high security facilities, full of mad prisoners and plenty of torture equipment."

"Shikami," the voice of the fourteen-year old Kumo boy, Raiden, called out. He was a gangly kid—fierce with a sword and with an impressive knack for lightning/water combo attacks. But, he thought himself the next Naruto or Sasuke, destined to fight against evil and save the world, and got pissy if anyone treated him like the brat he was. "Don't forget there are little kids here. Kids we don't want to terrify."

"It's okay, Raiden," Nao said, her voice genuinely sweet and her intent well meaning, "There's no reason to be scared. We're perfectly capable of dealing with any trouble." Raiden's embarrassed sputtering made everyone break out into laughter. Like that, the tension eased from the room. That was, until light shone from all around them and they heard a door open.

They were blinded, but he still knew every one of them shifted into fighting positions. He could hear Raiden unsheathing his sword and several of the younger kids pulling out kunai from supply pouches. One of the Yu twins cast a ninjutsu (the girl, Yuka, he's pretty sure, though the two are hard to tell apart), and the ground shifted slightly beneath their feet. Satoru considered using his trench knives, but thought better of it. They still had three unconscious bodies to worry about. Instead, he slowly shifted back, until his feet hit something solid. He kneeled down, grabbing the person to see if he could find out who they were. Immediately, and to his slight embarrassment, he recognized it as the Uzumaki. The good thing was, worse come to worse, he could carry her and run easily. She was curvy, but short. Both Haru and Toshi were taller than him and would be cumbersome to handle. The bad thing was he couldn't care less about the Uzumaki if Toshi was left behind.

By this point, their eyes were adjusting. The jutsu the Yu cast apparently created a maze of stone spikes around them making it tricky for the crowd of ninja surrounding the circle of spikes to reach them. Perhaps crowd was a strong word—their only seemed twenty-five of them, barely more than their own numbers. But they didn't have three heavy bodies to cart around. The ninja seemed to be uniform, meaning they had a ninja affiliation. Satoru squinted, trying to force the last of the shock out of his eyes so he could see their headbands. When he could finally see the symbol on the glimmering head bands, it was a musical note. _Sound,_ he thought. That was… interesting.

First and foremost, it told him they had, indeed, traveled into the past. Even if Toshi had welded some Tsukuyomi type genjutsu into his dimension, they would never be hostile like this. And Toshi would never include anything related to Orochimaru. He hated the man even more than Satoru. Perhaps he would marvel on their grand feat later. Secondly, if he remembered (if? What was the point in false humility?) correctly, then they were somewhere between one to eight years before the war. At the sound of footsteps, Satoru's attention was drawn to his right, where the entrance to the chamber was.

There stood a young man, approximately his own age, with silver hair and round glasses.

"This," he began, "is very unusual." Satoru put on his best cheeky smile. He had a feeling who this was, and felt almost excited to speak with him.

"Quite. I'm used to introductions involving tea." The man who was probably Kabuto narrowed his eyes, clearly not amused.

"How did you get in here?"

"Teleportation?" Satoru offered, shrugging. "We clearly didn't use the entrance."

The man walked forward, passed the circle of ninja, and eyed their group critically.

"Teleportation would require a seal in this room to access. Have you been in here before?"

"Aren't you getting ahead of yourself?" Satoru asked. He was circling them now, eyeing them up individually. He evidently had no interest in this interrogation—no doubt he expected to get more honest answers from the lab table. Satoru spared Toshi a glance. Luckily, he had fallen face down with Haru and Chie on top of him, obscuring most of his face. Still, Most-Likely-Kabuto didn't seem to be the type to be satisfied without sizing up each and every one of them. If he caught the resemblance between Toshi and Sasuke, then their stay here would get too complicated to fast. Desperate, he made eye contact with Shikami. Her eyes held an edge he hadn't seen in years. _Well, well_ he thought, _it seems the doe has a plan_. The least he could do was be a distraction.

"Look," Satoru started over, putting a tinge of fear and desperation in his voice. That attracted Kabuto's attention, drawing his cool gaze back on Satoru. He made a big show of seeming nervous "We're just innocent, innocuous, inexplicably well-armed travelers. We were being hassled by some fearsome bandits and I, desperate and afraid for the children," he emphasized this by grabbing one nearest to him and tenderly patting his head. The boy growled at him and pulled out another kunai. "prayed upon a shooting star to the great… rabbit goddess, Kaguya, to lift us up and place us somewhere safe. And here we are. How am I supposed to explain divine intervention?"

"Kaguya?" one of the shinobi whispered, sending a murmur through the rest. How odd. They weren't supposed know about her, not enough to elicit the fear he recognized on a few of the men's faces. Satoru looked back at Kabuto.

"Interesting name for a goddess," he said, seemingly intrigued.

"She wasn't always a goddess," Satoru responded, letting his voice drop into a whisper. "She was once a mortal, like you or I. Yet, with the purest of intentions, she ate what was not meant to ever be eaten, and gained power beyond your wildest imaginations. From her children and her children's children, we gained a fraction of her power, but" at this point, Satoru slid his eyes over the various shinobi, making eye contact with each one. And he may have cast a slight genjutsu over his eyes to make them appear a crimson red (as opposed to their usual dark red). And gleaming. "But her pure soul had been corrupted into something violent, monstrous. She will awaken one day, soon, and take back what was hers. She'll creep into your beds and dig her hand into your heart to suck you dry. She will drain the blood from your children, your lovers, your leader, leaving them empty husks. She steals the life from the grass and trees and turn everything into dust. All that will be left of this world is a barren wasteland." He turned his gaze back to Kabuto, who looked more irritated then disturbed. How to correct that? Without warning, Satoru jumped across the unconscious bodies and pulled himself against the stone spikes, looking straight into Kabuto's eyes. The twenty five shinobi all moved to attack, only to be stopped by a motion of Kabuto's hand. Satoru grinned, teeth gleaming. He would like to say the manic bloodlust behind his smile was an act, but the thought of a withered and broken Orochimaru did excite him. "I quite look forward to it."

"And I'm tired of your superstitious nonsense." Satoru was sure that Kabuto was going to signal the shinobi, but Shikami beat him to it. With only a murmur from the young Yuka, the maze of spikes shot up and out. Most shot into the ceiling, but enough shot out towards the walls to force the shinobi back. In her next breath, Yuka called out

"Earth Release: Heavenly Pillar!" And up they rose. Immediately, Satoru threw himself over the three unconscious bodies in the middle of them. The others bombarded the attacker below them, flinging jutsus and explosive tags.

"Fire Release: Great Fireball!" the other Yu twin, Yuichi, called out.

"Earth Release: Landslide!" Another one of the kids yelled. There were some more fire jutsus, some lightning, a few earth, and even one or two wind. After the barrage of techniques, the entire chamber was poised to collapse. Satoru couldn't help but sigh—he supposed it was up to him to teach these kids how to moderate themselves (which he had no intention of doing). He supposed it wasn't their fault—they had been tried to fight against a god, and there training focused on large area destruction or impenetrable defense. In other words, they knew how to hide, create barriers, and explode things. Only those without much power (like him, but he suppressed the thought) trained in less extreme forms of combat. At least the imagined surprise on Kabuto's face amused him.

Within moments, they were nearly crushed against the top of the chamber (a good fifty feet in the air). Yuka stopped the pillar, strands of her long blond hair clinging to her face and her chest heaving. It was easy to forget with the Yu twins, with their old, wary eyes, but they were only twelve years old. Even with her impressive chakra reserves, this would surely exhaust the girl.

Thankfully, Shikami seemed to realize this before he did, and already positioned herself behind Yuka. The Nara put her hands on the girl's shoulder, assumedly transferring her chakra. With one more haggard breath, Yuka swiftly moved through the hand seals. Meanwhile, her brother shot out another fire ball at the shinobi below.

"Earth Release:" she yelled, with more emotion than Satoru had ever seen from her. "Great Tunnel." Above them the stone split and shifted, forcing the rest of the ceiling to collapse. It didn't matter, though, they had an opening. Yuka recast Heavenly Pillar and up they went.

"Earth users," Shikami called out, looking slightly exhausted herself. "protect us."

A few hand signals and jutsu names later, a wall formed around them. They passed through several empty rooms on the way up, including some with very surprised occupants (whom the kids wasted no time trying to explode). It took three minutes until they reached the top, while each second they moved slower and slower, while Yuka and Shikami looking even more drained. Still, they reached the top.

Once they were officially outside, Satoru was struck by the changes in the environment. In the future (wasn't that a strange thought), the forest had been twisted and dead, all the trees withered and black. Lush green surrounded—green from the leaves, from the grass, from the moss that seemed to coat everything. He could even hear the trickle of water from a creek. Most baffling, giant mushrooms sprouted from the trees like weeds.

He almost wanted another moment to absorb all the life, but then the ground shook underneath them.

"It seems you caused an earthquake." Nao noted to Yuka, voice mild. The girl shrugged, her earlier rush of emotion gone. Satoru wasted no time in sitting up and carelessly throwing Haru off of Toshi. In a moment, he lifted the man onto his shoulders. He stifled a groan. Toshi was a good ten centimeters taller than Satoru and packed with pure muscle, making him a bit of a burden while running away from a cave in. Raiden, the tallest of the conscious group next to Satoru and Shikami, went to pick up the one-hundred-ninety centimeter tall Haru. Shikami grabbed the Uzumaki.

By that point, most of the kids were jumping through the trees, away from the collapsing underground base. Only Nao stayed behind, though it seemed mostly out of curiosity of what's happening below them than any concern. A loud crack resounded across the forest, forcing the three shinobi with their heavy loads into the trees. The trees started to tip over, completely uprooted by the shifting ground. Shikami and Raiden moved ahead, following the kids. Satoru paused. Nao had stayed put, standing on the edge of a giant crack.

"Nao!" he nearly screamed, increasingly frustrated by the dumb girl. She looked at him, her light blue eyes somewhere distant. He yelled her name again, and this time recognition lit her eyes and she jumped up. As soon she landed in the trees, he pushed forward. Just in time, too, because in that moment the ground had caved in entirely, taking the tree he stood on with it.

"What the hell were you thinking?" he hissed once she was jumping at his side. "I thought Shikami was the suicidal one here."

"I was thinking," she said, ignoring his jab at the Nara, "Uchiha Sasuke might be down there."

The thought sent a chill down his spine. Anything Sasuke could do, Toshi would do better, he knew, except Toshi would never have the ability to seal Kaguya. Satoru shook off his fear—even if the Uchiha was dead under the rubble, no one here had any intention of letting Kaguya be revived. The black Zetsu was the problem, him and Uchiha Obito and Uchiha Madara. Neutralize them, and they were golden.

"I was also thinking," Nao continued. "about the nature of earth. It seems so impenetrable and stoic, but in truth..."

Rolling his eyes, Satoru tuned the rest of her philosophical rambling out. He couldn't believe he risked his and Toshi's life for her. That kind of idiocy was usually Haru's MO. Though he did admit, he liked her better than anyone else here (barring his little cousin Hiro and, of course, Toshi). Even Shikami, despite her supposed intelligence, was only half-bearable.

It took them ten minute to reach the rest of the group, who collected in the upper branches of a particularly tall tree.

"Any pursuers?" Shikami asked. Satoru shrugged.

"Ask the sensor." He said, jerking to the still mumbling Nao.

"…their cries of agony jumbling together with the screams of the dying. It's the song of the end, the tune the world will be humming when it finally meets the Shinigami." She finished.

"What's she on about?" Raiden asked, mildly disturbed.

"Oh, just about how the fragility of stone reflects humanities own weakness, despite both appearing strong and unbreakable." Satoru answered, grinning. "We end up paying for a rigidity with agonizing death. And the end of the world."

"Nao," Shikami interrupts. "Pursuers?"

It takes her a moment, but eventually she shook her head. The entire group breaths a sigh of relief. Satoru feels it's his duty to crush their hopes.

"And if Orochimaru was the one following us, would Nao be able to sense him?" They all knew the answer to that. "Then let's keep moving. Besides, we're near a hidden village here—Kusa, I think."

"Which way should we go?" a girl asked.

A good question, and one Satoru didn't know how to answer. They usually used Orochimaru's old bases as hideouts, but that clearly wasn't an option anymore.

"The ruins." Shikami said, her voice confident for the first time in ages.

"Seriously?" he said. "I know these kids are a bunch of prodigies, but they're still kids. Isn't that place a bit dangerous for them?"

"It's the only option," she sighed. "Anywhere else is too close to ninja forces, or samurai, or Orochimaru."

He had to admit she was right, but already his muscles ached in protest.

"I doubt we can make it nonstop, especially avoiding any major settlements." The last thing they needed was word spreading around about them. They're violent introduction to Orochimaru was bad enough.

"I have a map." Nao said, removing the bag she wore across her shoulder and rummaging out a scroll. "Lord Orochimaru made it for me. We can plan our route from here." Shikami jumped down to her level and took the scroll, shifting Chie awkwardly on her shoulder. Quickly, Nao slid the girl over her own back. Satoru couldn't help but frown at that—physical endurance and muscle power was not one of Nao's strengths. She was a naturally sick girl. Shikami didn't seem to share his concerns, instead looking over the map with a furrowed brow.

"I think I know a route. Let's move—we'll rest in six hours."

And here he thought Shikami lost her strict schedules with her family. Shame it wasn't so.

With a collective groan, the young group set off east—towards Uzu.

* * *

><p><strong>an Woo! Finished Chapter 2. As always, I want your thoughts and advice. What do you think of Satoru? Nao?  
>Don't worry, it won't be all OCs. More canon character will come into play very quickly<br>**


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